JERUSALEM >> Israel bombarded an area in the southern Gaza Strip with large tent encampments for Palestinians displaced by the war and killed at least a dozen people, including children, the Civil Defense emergency rescue service in the territory said Thursday.

The strike was part of the latest round of attacks on Gaza and its residents that killed more than 20 people overnight between Wednesday and Thursday, according to Palestinian officials, who do not distinguish between civilians and combatants in death tolls.

One of the strikes hit the coastal area of Muwasi near the city of Khan Younis, an area largely designated by the Israeli military as a “humanitarian zone” where tens of thousands of displaced people have been sheltering in tents.

In video distributed by wire agencies, the strike appeared to ignite a fire that burned some tents and rescue workers attempted to douse the flames in the wake of the strike on Muwasi before driving off with the dead and wounded.

Atef al-Hout, the director of the Nasser Hospital, said that the bodies of at least 14 people had arrived at the medical facility overnight Thursday, including seven children. Most were believed to have been killed in the strike on Muwasi, he said.

Since the Hamas-led attacks on Israel ignited the war in October 2023, Israel has repeatedly ordered Palestinians to head for Muwasi, creating sprawling tent encampments. While many Palestinians hoped they would be safe in the Israeli-designated humanitarian zone, Israel has occasionally struck there, citing activity by militants.

The Israeli military did not immediately respond to a request for comment on the Muwasi attack and did not confirm the location of the strike.

Israel has vowed to intensify its air attacks in Gaza in an effort to force Hamas to lay down its weapons and to release the hostages seized by the armed group in the Oct. 7, 2023, assault on southern Israel.